NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Helena Moreno announced two open grant opportunities through the City of New Orleans funded by the state’s Resilient Communities Infrastructure Program, including $1million in total funding available for grants and technical assistance for commercial kitchens in New Orleans in partnership with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and $850,000 in total funding available for green infrastructure workforce training providers.
Food Business Microgrant Program
Rationale: New Orleans is known for its culinary contributions, but the city lacks sufficient infrastructure to support emerging food entrepreneurs to produce and export their products within the city and region.
Purpose: Support commercial kitchens that incubate small businesses and provide access to food production space throughout the city. The program addresses the loss of commercial kitchen capacity following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida and the destruction of Edible Enterprises by funding the development and growth of commissary kitchens in New Orleans to restore, expand, and stabilize access for food entrepreneurs.
Eligibility: Operators of commercial kitchen spaces in New Orleans
Program Administered By: New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
How to Apply: Visit https://noraworks.org/programs/enhancecorridors/food-business-microgrant-program
Application Deadline: August 3, 2026
Green Infrastructure Workforce Training & Development Program Rationale: This program builds on past collaborative efforts to grow the city’s expertise and utilization of green infrastructure, which include nature-based and innovative construction solutions to reduce residents’ vulnerability to flooding and the overall burden on the City’s piping, drainage, and pumping systems (grey infrastructure).
Purpose: Expand workforce opportunities for underemployed New Orleanians and grow the local green infrastructure industry, making the city more resilient to flood events and its citizens more resilient to economic disruptions.
Eligibility: Training providers with a track record of providing education and certification in green infrastructure and in connecting New Orleanians to employment
Program Administered By: City of New Orleans Office of Economic Development
How to Apply: Visit https://nola.gov/next/economic-development/programs/green-infrastructure-workforce-and-business-development/
Application Deadline: July 31, 2026
“This is an important opportunity for our green infrastructure workforce training providers and our commercial kitchen operators to apply for funding to grow their capacity,” said Mayor Moreno. “We need your best and brightest proposals to use this funding as a multiplier to expand the reach of effective programs. When residents have good jobs and stable businesses, they recover more quickly from economic shocks and make our whole community stronger.”
The programs launched this week seek to diversify and strengthen New Orleans’ economy by investing in the growth of priority industries and small businesses. Additionally, both programs promote resilience measures designed to help individuals and small businesses recover faster following disasters.
“We are using our recovery dollars creatively to invest in people and small businesses who are the backbone of our economy,” said Jeff Schwartz, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development. “Green infrastructure and food production are two industries where it just makes sense for New Orleans to lead because of our world-renowned food culture and expertise in living with water.”
“Through the Food Business Microgrant Program, we are investing directly in the people and spaces that make New Orleans’ food culture so vibrant,” said Brenda Breaux, Executive Director of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority. “By strengthening shared-use commercial kitchens and supporting the entrepreneurs who rely on them, this program helps remove barriers to growth and ensures small food businesses have the infrastructure they need to expand, modernize, and thrive. It’s about building long-term resilience in our local food economy while creating more opportunity across our city.”
The Resilient Communities Infrastructure Program (RCIP) is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to create a safer and stronger Louisiana. New Orleans was granted $33 million in formula funding through RCIP for recovery and resilience efforts resulting from 2020 and 2021 storms Hurricanes Zeta and Ida. RCIP is managed by the State of Louisiana’s Office of Community Development and implemented locally. Learn more.